Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at enough time mentioned media reports she stated had been based upon “stolen” facts in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the knowledge wasn't a subject of state stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A completely new board and management has since taken about the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption at the establishment.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation located the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for publicity because of the media.

The probe into supposed “facts protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “private” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the function of NLC personnel in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit determined certain media and reports that she claimed involved these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that though preserving state info was “a lawful essential aimed at defending the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only placed on appropriately classified data.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked info did not drop into this group.

Substantially, the SSA made it very clear that the need to guard point out details “won't avert any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation identified that the NLC details involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not classified with regards to the prescripts in the Minimum amount Info Protection Benchmarks (Pass up)”.

“The leakage from the applicable sensitive official NLC details to the media won't pose a threat to national stability,” the SSA claimed, introducing the influence from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature from any from the suspected NLC workforce that can be discovered from the information and information interrogated”.

Furthermore, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to own these types of uncovered in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” within the NLC was sent to the US, in which he claimed it was getting sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating very similar claims he had Beforehand manufactured in Parliament, which bundled advert hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call either.

“I came below in this August residence very last 12 months and claimed to honourable members that information about our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and place in one condition in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We named around the Condition Stability Company to come back check into the make any difference simply because we are getting reports that our information and facts is building dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been converse, needless to say from 1 supply, one media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs the SSA investigation were completed Practically a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting of the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could itself identify a venture to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.

After Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a statement indicating that his remarks reflected “an extremely risky Perspective where the media is currently being blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“As opposed to investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to cast question on the integrity in the journalists involved and has asked the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive assignments made top secret
Safety flaws discovered inside the NLC grant funding process throughout the SSA’s investigation, seem to are already utilised as an justification with the NLC to remove all proactive-funded projects from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and projects have been removed from the grant funding procedure and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Office environment, Executive Manager Authorized in an effort to safeguard [the] data,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was lots of inside dialogue, with plenty of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside a senior posture on the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to get rid of many of the proactive tasks from your program and Restrict use of a handful of people”.

Some in that handful of folks have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC several several years back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a house in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The house is among various paid out for with lottery money that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to large-ups while in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their enjoy.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have due to the fact died.

Each time a new administration, such as the complete board and govt, took in excess of within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” during the documentation associated with proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based. Crucial paperwork ended up missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was able to Get well copies of some ตรวจ หวย files from its Mimecast e mail archiving technique plus the laptops of their assistants and support staff members.

News experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern doable details protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts acquired on account of carrying out official features from the Fee by NLC workforce. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission although disrupting the productive features [with the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt to the Commission since the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for your SSA to investigate was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is now facing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in lawful action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the gatherings which transpired referring to facts stability breaches in the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown many news studies which she claimed were being the results of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her classified NLC Info and persistently inspired her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally ended up dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report within the Each day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene reported which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff during the NLC’s East London office, who was the spouse as well as mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three kids.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was observed not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The typical factor in these articles or blog posts is always that [they involve] labeled info concerning proactive funding tasks,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the relatives residence to go ahead and take warmth off her and his small children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the damage many people experienced with the hands with the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, fiscal compensation are predicted.

“Some men and women had been seriously affected incredibly negatively by this … This is absolutely distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Day by day Maverick final 12 months.

“I achieved a couple of these men and women. It had been just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole life have already been turned upside down,” explained Scholtz.

Among the People she satisfied were being Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show into the media.

“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to personnel presenting such situations outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its conclusions.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentrate is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by ensuring an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having staying intimidated.”

It proposed the NLC create a “Harmless channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward exercise” that may not stop or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, determined by the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is a prerequisite.”

Media studies Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner from the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article experienced elements of information not accessible in the public domain, thus boosting issue on interior Information security breaches. The allegations inside the media have been independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “However, employees answerable for divulging categorized details have but to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 post posted by the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations with the Limpopo Mirror post released on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation regarding a previous employee because of the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the threat triggered on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 short article from the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled information concerning NLC coverage, boosting more fears of internal data stability breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts security dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it had been based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Info) ask for for information in regards to the venture, she reported